We finally met Cameron Joaquin Jackson

I still can't believe it.

My appointment was yesterday at 10am. I took the whole day off in anticipation. My plan was to get ready & leave the house before 9:30 so I could drink my water & not have to worry about breaking a sweat in my bouncy car. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way.

9:38 Still at home. Running around looking for camcorder, keys (mental note: they're in the bathroom), cell phone. WHERE THE HELL IS MY CELL PHONE?!

10 seconds later....

Cellphone rings!

Paul: I'm on my way to the dr's office.

Brandy: Uh-huh yeah...

Paul: Did you get my text?

Brandy: Wha? What are you talking about? Frantically making the dogs a treat

Paul: Because you didn't reply...

Brandy: WHAT?! No, no I didn't. I mean I couldn't find my cell. I mean ok, ok I'm on the verge of throwing up from being so damn nervous. I have to leave right now!

9:41 I close front door.......& as I hear it click I realize. I never went back for my keys. :(

So shortly afterward Paul picked me up & we were on our merry way. Merry as in I was chugging down bottle after bottle of water while trying not to throw up.

We finally arrive at the dr's office & as I go check in Paul stays behind in the car to let the camcorder charge. Yes be jealous. Our awesome car comes complete w/a 12v line. It's as if they had me & my camera/camcorder that's always dead in mind when they designed that beauty. :)

After I checked in Paul & I documented the day to Baby J. I assured him that yes his mommy is a dope that does tend to lock herself out of the house or other bizarre quirks especially when I'm nervous. After the mini interview we were off to our appt.

Holy cow I thought I was going to explode w/excitement & pee. Thankfully I kept it all together & we went off w/our U/S technician. Her name was Lori. Before we started the u/s we introduced her to baby J via camcorder & then the real excitement began. We saw our baby J!

It's so crazy. It felt as though only last week he was this big:

& now we were seeing actual arms, legs & mouth!

It took her awhile to determine if it was a baby boy or girl. He started off sound asleep facing toward the camera. :/ Stubborn like his mama. No bueno.

With a few pushes on my belly he plopped around long enough for us to see the goods. Well, long enough for Lori to see the goods. It all happened so fast I'm glad she was use to these situations.

If it looks like a huge blur to you......well, welcome to the club. If I really put my imagination to is I think I see a pee pee but for the most part I see a bunch of ink blots. :/ After the quick crotch shot he would only give us a side view. Which was fine by us. It was so surreal to see him waving & sucking away (I think he was eating the fruit leather I ate a few mins before our appt.) :)

Then he decided he had enough of our shenanigan's

..........& kicked me.

I didn't feel the kick but holy cow with a foot that huge how could I not right? After I expressed how huge I thought his foot was I expected Lori to say, "no, no that's normal." but instead she answered, "WHOA THAT IT IS BIG!" ha ha our little giraffe.

A few more shots later & our appt. was over. We stayed for a bit & chatted w/Lori. Her only child leaves for college this year. :( She was rather upset about it & said to enjoy our baby while we can because it all flys by so fast. Even though I know it's all true I can't wait for it to begin. :)

Lori gave Paul a little celebration gift.

I swear he still carries it around with him. Ok maybe not "carries" it but I know it's on his desk at work. ;)

We can't wait to meet & hold you Cameron!

Big hugs & kisses!

But I lika da fried foods :(

If you've never watched/heard of Over the Hedge that joke made no sense to you. :p

For the past month or so my taste buds have taken a turn for the worse. Or so I thought. I can't stand the taste of fried foods (mainly Red Robins awesome garlic fries boo hoo) & to top it off I can't eat alot. Alot meaning a normal portion. Now if I were on a diet this would be awesome but I'm not & having to decide what meal I can enjoy within 3 bites isn't my idea of a good time.

So lately I've been looking (please read: not willing to take the time to cook) healthy alternatives has been rather draining. Until this past weekend. After reading a recent post from my fellow veggie head Angelina posted this drool worthy recipe. Every since I stopped eating meat (5 years ago) one of the dishes I missed the most was a Flauta. After quickly becoming a member to Vegetarian Times I began searching & printing out various recipes. I decided that the Penne with pasta & vegetables recipe would make a perfect side dish. Paul loves to cook so it was nice having help in the kitchen. Especially since I'm a whiner when it gets too hot. :p

The only change I made was I added lemon pepper to the pasta. I love lemon pepper. I add it to everything, it's the yin to my yang. Paul doesn't understand the obsession but agreed it added a nice flavor to the mix. What I loved most about the entire meal was that it was healthy and my stomach didn't hurt afterward! Yay! For the time being (there's no commitment since I don't know how far my love for cheese goes) but I want to omit cheese as much as possible from my diet. I think that will help my stomach problems go away & heck meals are great w/out the fatty goodness!

The pasta was not only awesome the night of but it also made a wonderful potato salad the next day! I'm not a fan of leftovers but even I grabbed bowl for lunch. :)

Baby J rates this delicious dish worthy of 2 karate style kicks!

Sidenote: I suck. I forgot the computer plug for my camera. :( I'll have to upload pics another time. But by all means check out the linkys!

I love my grandma

As far back as I can remember I've always adored my Grandma. We hit a rough patch in my early teens, that went deeper than rebellion, but at the end of the day she's always been there for me.



I've always been grandmas favorite. Even though most people say, "oh I love you all the same" that wasn't the case for me. Grandma let it know when I was a baby that I was her favorite grandchild & I've even been donned with the nickname Precious. Now, that may not seem like a big deal to you but I'm the only grandchild w/a nickname. This of course has also made other family members loathe me a little but eh. I'll take my grandmas love any day.

I remember her telling me to, "put on your walking shoes!" which meant we were going out for a day of glorious shopping (see! blame her for my shopaholic ways), singing On The Road Again when we headed out to visit family & playing 4 corner king. Ah, those were the care free days.




Even though I haven't blogged about it most of my family/friends know that Paul & I will be moving to Mesa, Az. Yes, it's far & yes it's crazy but since we started dating Paul & I would always talk about how we felt California wasn't the right place (for us) to raise children & how we're sick of the hussle & bussle that's the heart of California. We've talked seriously about moving to Phoenix, Az (where he was born & raised for 4 years) & Denver, Co. When our company approached us (after announcing the closing of our store location) they would like for us to move out & work at the Mesa, Az location.



This decision was not made overnight nor was it easy. I avoided this talk like the plague & when Paul finally sat me down for a real discussion I fought like a bat out of hell. In the end our decision came down to moving & taking the opportunity that's been given to us.



This past Wednesday I met my Aunt Rachel & her two younger children Kira & Jacob at a skating rink. The bonus was getting to see my Grandma. She lives in L.A. so our visits aren't as often as I'd like. :(



We were sitting at a small table talking about the latest family drama (yes, my family is special) & going through magazines when she pointed out a small article for me to read.



The article read, the best way to reduce stress is through a heart felt hug. Not only does it reduce stress but it also feels good!



As I read the last part out loud my grandma wrapped her arms around me & gave a tight squeeze. Thinking about it now I want to cry but at the moment I laughed & said, "aww thank you! I needed that!" Don't you just love how grandmas just know how to make everything all better? :)

I love my grandma.

Happy Anniversary Handsome

A year ago today we invited our closest friends & family to be a part of the happiest day of our lives. Sounds corny but revisiting that day has brought nothing but smiles & laughter over every step of the way. I can't wait to celebrate the next 100 years full of memories that make us laugh & cringe at how our crazy tendencies complement each other.

I had a special delivery for Pauly at work. A bouquet of the same type of flowers we used for our wedding day: red Gerber Daisies.

Even boys love getting flowers. :)

Sadie is famous!

This month we received our monthly newsletter from the San Bernardino Humane Society.

Guess who graced the cover?

Our little superstar :)

Can't wait for walk-a-thon 09!

Nothing was said directly about Sadie however, there was a wonderful portion of the article I should share:

Pledge raisers, you accomplished more this year than ever before!

Thank you to all that helped us exceed our goal of $500 ;)

3 more days...

Until my bestie Julia comes to Cali!!!

I still can't believe she's coming down. Plane tickets being ridiculous & her hectic job schedule (government jobs aren't always what they're cracked up to be). She's tried planning trips before but they've always fallen through. When she first left to Denver I was the first to visit. I believe 99.9% of the trip Julia drove me around town to show how wonderful & safe Denver would be for us & our family when we decided to have a child. :p I'm a Cali girl so that was a no go. But I did fall in love with the art & clean air. Not only could you feel the difference but you could see blue in the sky! crazy. After that trip she drove down for the wedding. That time frame was beyond chaotic. I loved having her in town but hated not being able to make time for a beach trip or quick dash to downtown L.A.. Being the greatest bestie a friend could ever have she was truly god sent. She was supportive & helped in any & every way she could. I couldn't have asked for more. :) Her last attempt out was nipped in the bud (a day before she was going to order plane tickets!) when her company decided to send her out to D.C. for some training. :p

So needless to say when she asked if coming down 4th of July weekend I didn't get my hopes up. But OH EM GEE she's flying in on Thursday! I can't wait to see her. We're dedicating her trip to quality time full of weird jokes, gabbing, reminiscing of old times & checking everything off of our "Julia's must!" list. :)

Bakers

Mexican Food

Beach

Citywear

Fireworks

Bakers

We use to spend all the time together even if it was a quick run to Target for a "Ugh I have nothing I need a new shirt!" pit stop! Including quick changes in the car making sure no one was peeking & running off to Bakers for a quesadilla MmmMmmm...


Julia moving was truly hard. I know it was hard for her leaving her church, friends & where she grew up but it was hard to know she wouldn't be there (physically). We've remained the best of friends even with the distance but at times it's hard to not wallow a little that she's not around. Still to this day we'll joke around & say to meet each other at Target or how about a quick trip to the beach?! So even though we can't do it all the time it's nice to know for 4 days (some shorter than others) we'll be able to re-live in a bubble where she lives back in Cali. :)


Here's to enjoying every moment, laugh & trip to every little hole in the wall mexican restaurant & picking up every last seashell! I can't wait to see you Juuuuuuuuliiiiaaaa I miss you & can't wait to check, check, check!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Pills suck!

I've never been good at taking pills.

1. I forget to take them.

2. I'm a gagger.

I've come to find out being preggo doesn't make pill taking any easier. I'm usually nauseous & brushing my teeth w/out gagging has become a victory in itself. Since I found out I was with child my doctor immediately put me on Prenatal & Calcium pills. I'm a vegetarian (even though this baby is trying to turn my taste buds elsewhere) so since I don't drink milk she advised I take 1000 mg of calcium. Not too bad but that equals 2 pills. Then to top it off my prenatal pills stink. I don't know what that smell is but it makes me want to hurl. At first it reminded me of vanilla (which I love) but it was a weird rotting vanilla smell. Now it's turned into the stench of death. As if taking these 3 lovely pills wasn't enough I added Fish Oil to the mix. My friend took it while pregnant with her first baby. He's been tested by the Preschool he attends & has been said to have remarkable memory & is gifted in many other aspects. Say no more! I'm sold! Not that her personal experience guarantees a gifted child but hey it can't hurt. :)

Aren't they abnormaly large?! BLECH!

My lovely husband supports me so much. He's been my little cheerleader & yells out, "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" as I gag & try to swallow the juice I just threw back up into my mouth. Isn't that a delicious thought to process?

His constant support is rather sweet. :) This past week he even offered to take the pills with me. I thought he was joking so I agreed & handed him 4 pills. Together we chugged away & I was smitten. How he loves me & I love him so. :) Just for the record the fish oil pill was the worst for Pauly. For me the nasty stench of prenatal takes the cake every time!